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"Andrew Fastow will be out of prison before the Wright Amendment is gone."
Kudos to reporters Trebor Banstetter and David Wethe.
And kudos to our newest contributor to PlaneBuzz for posting a timely update on the Wright Repeal passage and coming up with his own creative "time-line" analogy.
Just in case you thought there were more important things for our fine friends in Washington DC to deal with this week, on Friday both the House and Senate approved the compromise agreement brokered by Dallas, Fort Worth, American Airlines (AMR) and Southwest Airlines (LUV).
AMR's website only appears to be updated during waking hours on Amon Carter Boulevard, so we can't actually link to their press release, but the Fort Worth Star-Telegram wasted no time posted an update to their website.
I'm sure this comes as good news for most of the parties involved, and while the language blocking an anti-trust review seems to have survived, I wouldn't be breaking out the silver party hats just yet. There's still a lawsuit pending against the City of Dallas by the owners of the former Legend Terminal, and this road has been far too long and winding for me to really believe that the end of the Wright Amendment could actually be near.
Then again, near is a relative term, when you consider the fact that today's high school freshmen class will be seniors in college when the restrictions are actually lifted.
Okay. After I wrote about the new freestanding DISH in my front yard, many of you sent me emails. And without exception -- you all agreed that the DISH looked pretty ugly sitting out there. But, not one person questioned my reasoning for putting it there.
Heh.
Guess what happened this week?
A huge truck with one of those automatic arm things that electric companies use to fix electric lines showed up across the street. (Where the offending trees located at the back of the property had made connection with the DISH satellites impossible from the side of our house.)
In the next two days, a number of minions (aided by the use of this mammoth truck) took down every one of the tall pines at the back of our neighbor's property. Yep, those pine trees.
I guess I should call the guy who installed the DISH to come out and reinstall it on the side of my house.
But after he spent almost all day out here the first trip, I'm not so sure he's going to be too anxious to make a repeat appearance.
It's here. Come and get it!
Look for this week's issue of PBB to be posted Friday. It's been a little slow-goin' today. Our email hosting company told us they were having a problem with the "backbone" or whatever. Translation? We had no email access for much of the day. Well, except for our non-site related addresses.
Uh-huh. Backbone...right. Whatever.
I'll post here tomorrow when the issue is up for grabs.
Tuesday the DOT gave Northwest the okay to start its new regional subsidiary, Compass.
This is not good news for either Pinnacle or Mesaba, both of which now find themselves in the unenviable position of having to bid for regional routes against a new in-house competitor. Northwest has said that it intends to expand its new operation fairly quickly. However, contrary to what the airline said earlier in the month, when it claimed it intended on starting new service from Dulles in October, Northwest this week would not give a firm start date for the new airline.
Formal FAA approval of the new operation is still pending. As you may recall, Compass is operating under the certificate of the former Independence Air, which Northwest purchased from the bankrupt airline.
Following up on a suggestion that a fellow FlyerTalk member had made Monday, one regular poster at the popular website decided to protest the new TSA " liquids-are-okay-in-a-quart bag rule."
So he wrote, "Kip Hawley is an Idiot" with magic marker on a quart-sized plastic zip top bag, into which he placed his toiletries. The bag was then placed into his carry-on bag. The passenger flew out of Milwaukee Tuesday.
(Hawley is the head of the TSA.)
We'll let the creative flyer tell you the rest of the story:
I was detained for about 25 minutes today after passing though the TSA checkpoint at MKE terminal E.
I thought about posting this in the other treads devoted to their experience today under the new new liquids-are-okay-in-a-quart bag rule, but I decided it needed its own thread.
Yesterday, while discussing the new rules a fellow Flyertalker suggested we write "Kip Hawley is an Idiot" on the outside of our clear plastic quart bags.
At the checkpoint I placed my laptop in one bin, and my shoes, cell phone and quart bag in a second bin. The TSA guy who was pushing bags and bins into the X-ray machine took a good hard look, and then as the bag when though the X-ray I think he told the X-ray operator to call for a bag check/explosive swab on my roller bag to slow me down. He went strait to the TSA Supervisor on duty and boy did he come marching over to the checkpoint with fire in his eyes!
He grabbed the baggie as it came out of the X-ray and asked if it was mine. After responding yes, he pointed at my comment and demanded to know "What is this supposed to mean?" "It could me a lot of things, it happens to be an opinion on mine." "You can't write things like this" he said, "You mean my First Amendment right to freedom of speech doesn't apply here?" "Out there (pointing pass the id checkers) not while in here (pointing down) was his response."
At this point I chuckled, just looking at him wondering if he just realized how foolish that comment was, but I think my laugh pushed him over the edge as he got really angry at this point. A Milwaukee County Sheriffs deputy was summoned - I would have left at this point, but he had my quart bag with my toothpaste and hair gel.
When the deputy got over the TSA supervisor showed him the bag and told him what had happened to that point. After he had finished I started to remind him he had left out his statement that my First Amendment rights didn't apply "here" but was cut off by the deputy who demanding my ID. I asked if I was under arrest, and his response was "Right now you are not under arrest, you are being detained."
I produced my passport and he walked off with it and called in my name to see if I had any outstanding warrants, etc. The TSA supervisor picked up the phone about 20 feet away and called someone? At this point two more officers were near by and I struck up a conversation with the female officer who was making sure I kept put. I explained to her who Kip Hawley was, why I though he was an idiot, and my surprise that the TSA Supervisor felt my First Amendment rights didn't apply at the TSA checkpoint. She didn't say much.
After he was assured I didn't have any warrants out the first office came back and I had my first chance to really speak, I explained that I was just expressing my opinion and my writing should be protected my by First Amendment rights. When he didn't respond, I then repeated that the TSA Supervisor stated my First Amendment rights didn't apply at the TSA check point and I asked if he (the deputy) agreed that was the case. He responded by saying "You can't yell fire in a crowed theater, there are limits to your right.
At this point I chuckled again.
I asked how this was even remotely like shouting "Fire" in a crowd, and his answer was "Perhaps your comments made them feel threatened."
At about this point the TSA Supervisor finished up his phone call, and summoned the officer back over. They talked for about 2 minutes, and then both came back over. The officer pulled out his pad and asked for my address and I asked why he needed it. "For the report I have to file since I was summoned here" I started to give it, when I noticed the TSA Supervisor was writing it down as well, so I stopped and asked why he needed it. He said he needed to file an incident report too, and I took the opportunity to ask what the resolution of the incident was, did I do anything wrong? Are you going to ask the officer to arrest me?
He said no, I was free to go, but he was going to confiscate my bag. I asked "If I did nothing wrong, why would you take my bag" He pointed to a posted sign that said something about reusing plastic bags (the MKE TSA was providing quart sized zipper bags to pax today) I let him know that I had brought my bag from home and would not be letting him take it. He then asked for permission of photograph it, which I agreed too.
While he walked away to get the camera I finished giving my address to the deputy, and he told my "You're free to go." Total time, about 25 minutes.
After the TSA Supervisor took the photo I followed him back to his desk - he had a pretty shocked look on his face when he turned around and saw me there, and we talked for about 5 minutes, but when he rolled his eyes at me I quickly realized that he wasn't going to listen to anything I said.
I tell you what folks. It was like having a Superbowl game here in September yesterday as the New Orleans Superdome was host to the first home game of the New Orleans' Saints to be played at "home" in more than two years last night on Monday Night Football.
I take that back.
It was better than a Superbowl game. Because with a Superbowl game, you never have that electrifying emotion that you get with most college games. Instead it's a corporate base of fans -- with only a token representation of the teams who are actually playing.
This was not the case yesterday in New Orleans. Far from it.
Tens of thousands of people began milling around the Superdome starting at 5 in the morning. And the party merely picked up steam as the day wore on.
I must admit. By the time the game started I was a nervous wreck.
No, I didn't go to the game. I don't have season tickets, and tickets in the Dome's "nosebleed" section for the game were going for $500 and up a piece. Forget the good seats. Those were going for $1000 and up. Per ticket.
I figured I'd stay home, chow down on ribs and enjoy ESPN in HD. I was not disappointed. Unbelievable game.
It's difficult to explain to those who don't live in the city and who have gone through the last year how important, psychologically, this game was. But it was. For many, it represented a much-needed break in an ongoing struggle to rebuild their homes and their lives. It represented a return to normalcy. The Dome was back. The much-improved Saints were coming home. All was suddenly very right with the world in a place where almost nothing has gone right for more than a year.
As I said in last week's PBB, a year ago I would have never thought that just one year later there would be football played in that building again. I remember saying, "That building is done. They will never be another football game played in that building."
Because as we all know, the Superdome last year was the poster child for how not to use a sports stadium as a "shelter of last resort."
But not only did the Dome reopen yesterday, but after $185 million and a fast-track rebuilding and reconstruction process, the building is now much improved. Better seats, better lighting, state of the art electronics and video, larger concession areas. You name it.
Then there are the Saints.
An honest-to-god quarterback in Drew Brees, Heisman winner Reggie Bush, a defense that stopped the highly-touted run game of the Falcons cold, veteran Deuce McAllister, and a rookie head coach who I only grow more and more impressed with as the weeks go by.
Who Dat. Who Dat. Who Dat Say They Goin' to Beat Dem Saints?
Not the Falcons.
And not Katrina.
Last week in PBB we noted that openers had been exchanged between the unions representing pilots at both American Airlines and Southwest and their respective companies.
Meanwhile, while there are no contract negotiations in progress at United Airlines, an email we received this morning reminded us that the different factions of that pilot group seem to be even more entrenched. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. The pilots at United Airlines were handed a horrifically expensive contract in the summer of 2000. I say "handed" because that was exactly what happened. Management agreed to a contract the airline was incapable of even paying at the time. Why? Because that pesky detail would go away once the airline merged with US Airways. United management was willing to do whatever it took to make the merger come together.
Right.
Is it any wonder that we awarded our coveted "PlaneBusiness Ron Allen Airline Management Award" to then-United CEO Jim Goodwin the next year?
Now, after we've seen that expensive contract deconstructed -- the United pilot group appears to be one fractured mess.
A PBB subscriber, who is a retired United pilot, sent us the latest missive to hit his email box today.
"For the past several months, through many email contacts with both active and retiree union and nonunion employees at United Airlines, we have been able to discern with crystal clarity one glaring observation…the employee anger, despair, hatred, disharmony, and disunity currently is running rampant in all sectors of employee and retiree ranks. With pilot apathy and poor morale at an all-time high, it is absolutely amazing that the airline has not yet experienced a non-terrorist related hull loss (Thank God for that!).The note also discusses the fact that a splinter group of United pilots calling themselves the Pearl Group is now attempting to form a new union at United, the United Pilots Association.
Several months ago, a number of other active and retired United pilots attempted to reunify all the pilot ranks at the airline to no avail. The active junior pilots hate ALPA and the “unfair disbursement of the $550-million note (which should have never manifested in the first place). Many senior active pilots are disgusted with the lack of direction ALPA leadership has provided and many are ashamed of distress-termination of the defined-benefit pension plan that screwed their former fellow aircrew members…as well they should be."
Thursday Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Atlantic Group pledged $3 billion over a 10-year period to the Clinton Global Initiative.
Branson essentially pledged all profits generated over the next ten years from the Virgin Group's airline and train companies.
And what does Sir Richard hope to get for his investment?
A hand in developing renewable sustainable energy sources, particularly bio-fuel projects -- in addition to working on a solution for global warming. Branson has been a vocal supporter of bio-fuel technology over the last couple of years. He has said publicly that he would like to have a hand in developing alternative fuel sources for his airplanes.
Good for Sir Richard. Just think how many chickens would have to be fried to produce enough vegetable oil to fly a 747 across the Atlantic. It's a rather daunting thought -- but probably doable. In some fashion.
This was the second year the Conference has been held. The project was started by former President Bill Clinton and seeks to bring diverse political and business entities together in seeking solutions to major world issues such as poverty, health care, religious and ethnic conflict and the environment.
You have to give Clinton credit. He apparently has Barbra Streisand and Rupert Murdoch working together on one of the Initiative's committees.
Talk about two people with widely divergent political beliefs. For that matter the fact Murdoch and Branson were in the same room is quite an accomplishment.
Much better than anything the United Nations has been able to put together lately.
But that is what is cool about the project. The organization does work to bring together all political sides of an issue -- in an attempt to find workable answers.
The Initiative, which generated $3 billion in support last year, had racked up some $6 billion in privately funded commitments -- as of Thursday.
Okay boys and girls. We need to get you updated on this ongoing mess.
Last week a federal judge gave Northwest Airlines the injunction they had sought against the AFA-CWA.
As expected, the AFA-CWA then filed an appeal with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Yesterday it was reported that the National Mediation Board had contacted both sides and requested they come to Washington next week.
This then was followed by news today that the AFA-CWA has told the NMB that talks between the union and the airline are at an impasse, requesting to be released from negotiations.
So in effect the union is now fighting on two fronts. On the one hand they continue their fight through the courts. On the other hand, they are bringing the Railroad Labor Act back into the picture by asking the NMB to declare an impasse.
Stay tuned.
For those of you who are subscribers, this week's issue of PBB is now posted.
When last we checked in with the bizarro world of Spirit Airlines' advertising, the airline was promoting its "Hunt for Jimmy Hoffa" Sale.
Today, yet another winner from the airline.
And I quote,
Spirit Airlines Introduces the Dead Presidents Sale
Wednesday September 20, 4:00 pm ET
Holla for Fares Starting at a Dolla(A)!
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 2006--Spirit Airlines today announces the Dead Presidents Sale with fares starting at $1(A) each way.
"How many dead presidents does it take to go on your next trip? Here's a hint: During Spirit Airlines' Dead Presidents sale, it's not all about the Benjamins," said Graham Parker, vice president of pricing and revenue management for Spirit Airlines. "We're offering fares that start with our first president - that's $1 each way! So holla if you want to spend a dolla for your next flight! We'll also have fares in honor of Lincoln, Hamilton (our honorary president), Jackson, Grant, and Benjamin, so click on over to spiritair.com and let the Dead Presidents take you on your next trip in style and of course, for less!"
Okay, now I admit, the first time I read this I missed the point. Benjamins? What's Benjamin Harrison got to do with this?
Then I got it.
But the problem is -- Benjamin Franklin, who appears on the $100 bill -- was not a President of the United States.
Yes, he is dead.
But he was not a President.
<shaking my head>
Maybe the guys at Spirit have been running around outside a little too long with those kites?
A public school teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a T- square, a slide rule and a calculator. At a morning press conference, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement. He did not identify the man, who has been charged with carrying weapons of math instruction.
"Al-Gebra is a problem for us," Gonzales said. "They desire solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents and different angles in a search of absolute value. They use secret code names like 'x ' and 'y' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns'. They belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with co-ordinates in every country.
As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say: 'There are three sides to every triangle.'"
When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, "If God wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes."
__._,_.___
Okay, it's Monday and yours truly is nursing a horrible two-for-two Southeastern Conference hangover resulting from a pair of losses Saturday. Both LSU and Tennessee fell to their opponents Saturday, although I'd have to say that LSU played the better losing effort.
Congrats to those of you who are fans of either Auburn or Florida. They were both great games. Irons looks pretty damn impressive for Auburn.
However, my Saturday SEC losing hangover was somewhat lightened Sunday when the New Orleans Saints managed to come back from a 13-0 deficit and beat the Green Bay Packers. This sets up a huge, huge game next Monday night in New Orleans against the hated Falcons. Yep. the first game to be played in the Superdome since you-know-what.
Should be a wild night, although Michael Vick and the Falcons have looked pretty tough so far this young season.
Okay, enough weekend football chatter. And no, I won't even get into that wild game between Philly and the Giants yesterday. Whew.
Yes, as you can tell, the new DISH is working just fine. Thank you very much.
Even if it does make my neighbors question my trailer-trash tendencies.
Now, what's up with the Things with Wings today?
Well, you know what they say about emails. Never say anything in an email that you wouldn't want an attorney for a competitor to see.
Apparently someone forgot to tell Mesa Air Group this basic tenet of Internet life.
According to Dave Segal, reporter for the Star-Bulletin, Hawaiian Airlines' attorneys testified in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Friday that they have uncovered emails that prove Mesa intended to put Hawaiian's competitor, Aloha, out of business -- with the start of its carrier go!.
As many of you are probably aware, Hawaiian Airlines filed suit against Mesa earlier this year, claiming that Mesa had used proprietary information that it gained access to during Hawaiian's bankruptcy process in starting up its go! operation -- more than a year after that information was to have been destroyed or returned.
Hawaiian's attorney Bruce Bennett testified Friday that as part of the airline's discovery process in their request for an injunction against go!, the airline had uncovered a series of emails between Mesa CFO Peter Murnane and consultant Mo Garfinkle, who is head of GCW Consulting. These emails had previously been submitted under seal.
As we've mentioned previously in PBB, this situation is even more entwined because Garfinkle also worked as a consultant with previous Hawaiian Airlines' Inc. Chairman John Adams -- during that airline's bankruptcy process.
According to the article by Segal,
Garfinkle, a former consultant for the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, wrote in an e-mail to Murnane that the Hawaii project did not make any sense if Aloha was still in the picture, according to Bennett. Murnane's response was that rather than wait for Aloha to die, Mesa should establish a presence in Hawaii so no one else could move in, putting Mesa in position to give Aloha "the last push," Bennett quoted.
Bennett also said a document prepared by Mesa for potential go! investors showed that the carrier, which has built its reputation on its low fares, intended to raise prices once Aloha was out of the way.
Murnane, reached in Phoenix after the hearing, said that the e-mails and information were taken out of context.
"(Eliminating Aloha) was not part of our business plan," Murnane said. "We went to great pains to make sure our business model made sense with all three carriers in the market. We didn't want to go into Hawaii with the assumption that the only way this would work would be if we pushed Aloha over the edge."
As for raising prices, Murnane said the airline's projections were based on all three carriers competing in the market at current fare levels in 2006 and 2007. Murnane said Mesa projected that in 2008 Hawaiian and Aloha would reduce interisland seat capacity, and go! would raise fares to below where they were before go!'s arrival.
Garfinkle, reached in China, declined to comment.
This news was met by a rather nasty response from Aloha, as you can imagine.
Meanwhile, for his part, Mesa Chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein called the case by Hawaiian against Mesa "hellacious" and accused Hawaiian of shifting its legal strategy by focusing on Aloha. That might be, but the news from Friday proves just how dangerous the process of legal discovery can be. Kind of like those "special prosecutor" investigations that start out looking at one thing and well, before you know it, other things pop up.
No pun intended.
As I've said in PBB before, I would think Hawaiian's case against Mesa rests strongly on just how "tight" their non-disclosure agreement during the airline's bankruptcy proceedings was.
One final interesting tidbit from Paradise.
Segal also said in his article that Bennett disclosed that Mesa and Aloha held discussions about forming a partnership before go! began service on June 9. Both Mesa and Aloha declined comment to the Star-Bulletin, but this sounds about right to us. Actually I doubt this was the first time the two entities had discussed a deal.
Frankly, I think Mesa was probably convinced Aloha was not going to get the financing needed to get out of bankruptcy earlier this spring.
For that matter, the news of Mesa's impending arrival in Hawaii while Aloha was still struggling to get out of bankruptcy protection, was seen by many as a kind of "squeeze play" to force Aloha to do a deal with Mesa. But they didn't.
Of course what makes all of this new news even more intriguing is that former Continental Airlines' Chairman and CEO Gordon Bethune, Jonathan Ornstein's nemesis, was just named Chairman of Aloha Airlines two weeks ago.
This is better than Rocky VI. Or is it VII?
Speaking of Gordo -- check out this interview he gave with the Newark Star-Ledger last week. Classic Bethune. Among other things, he stokes the United-Continental merger idea -- but only with Continental management at the helm of course.
Finally, we'll close today with a quote of the day.
"The flags on the tail are killing our industry, because this flag that represents a country doesn't allow us to be able to run this industry economically."
That was Giovanni Bisignani, CEO of the International Air Transportation Association in an interview with the Globe and Mail. Bisignani went on to say that there are far too many airlines in the world today. and that a long-overdue consolidation of the industry can't happen unless national governments loosen restrictive trade rules.
Then again, he didn't say anything about animals on tails. I guess that means the folks at Frontier are safe? Okay, poor attempt at a joke.
Hey, it's Monday!
Talk to you later.
For those of you who have to endure having Charter Communications as your cable television provider, two words: my condolences.
Today has to rank up there as one of the happiest in my life.
Today I got to tell Charter to take this box and shove it. (Actually it was two cable boxes and two remotes.)
As someone who relies heavily on consistent and efficient high-speed internet access (I already dumped Charter on that front in December) and as a devoted fan of football in high definition -- last weekend was just yet another example of how horrible Charter service is. One that once again involved no cable feed and lying Charter employees.
But today I finally got to tell them to get lost.
Yes, because of the abundance of trees in my neighborhood, (or actually the ones in my neighbor's yard across the street) it was touch and go as to whether I could even make the switch to satellite or not. And after five hours of trying three different positions on the side of the house, it was still "no go" late yesterday.
But then, one of the sweating installers came in and we had a serious talk.
Either I put the dish on a pole in the front yard -- or I wasn't getting DISH.
Or DIRECT or anything.
Except the evil Charter.
Do I care if the neighbors think I'm trailer trash?
No.
Actually as the installer noted, a couple of strategically placed azaleas would do a good job of camouflage. Or a camellia bush. Just not too big.
At that point, I really didn't care if he had said we had to put it on the mailbox on a 20-foot pole.
"Go ahead," I said.
Three hours later, I was shocked to find out Ina Garten has freckles. I tell you what. If you haven't seen European whole grain bread sliced in high definition on FoodNetworkHD, you've not lived.
But even better, I got to call Charter today and tell them "no mas."
I would give you a list of their various transgressions, but it would take half the day to compile and we all have better things to do.
There. Thanks. I feel even better now.
Time to crank up the appeal process.
Today U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero overturned the decision of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and issued Northwest Airlines' request for a preliminary injunction against any work action by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.
Personally? I disagree with the ruling. I think it guts the hell out of the RLA.
Next up? No doubt an appeal by the flight attendants.
PBB subscribers, this week's issue is now posted. You can access it here.
PBB subscribers take note. Look for out post-summer hiatus issue of PlaneBusiness Banter to be posted later today.
As for PlaneBuzz, okay, okay, already. We're working on getting back in high gear here. But you know how it is. You take two weeks off, you come back, and it takes a week to figure out what you've missed.
We'll be back -- we just have a little writing to get out of the way first.
One of our PBB subscribers alerted us today to a rather strange marketing and PR "tie-in."
It seems that the Boeing Company has partnered with Stocker Farms in Snohomish County Washington to create a Boeing 787 corn maze.
Yes, that's right.
According to the press release,
"This year's corn maze will use a series of trails throughout the 10-acre field to create the design of a 787 Dreamliner airplane. The theme of this year's maze, "Outstanding in Our Field," represents The Boeing Company's commitment to excellence and innovation in aerospace and Stocker Farms' excellence and innovation in agritainment (agricultural entertainment) to help maintain a high quality of life in the region."
Our reader wondered,
"It’s too bad they’re not building the 787 in Kansas. Then Dorothy and her little dog could wander through.
You have to wonder about how these discussions went.
'I’ve got this great idea to promote the 787. Instead of running consumer ads to promote the plane, let’s partner with a local farm and build a maze out of corn.'
'BRILLIANT!'
I could understand this idea if it were Embraer or Canadair, whose RJs serve smaller, more rural markets (like White Plains and Tulsa). But Boeing? For the long-haul 787?
I shudder to think what Boeing will do if there’s a Washington State Fair – build a full-size replica out of apples?"
We're baaack.
What a sad day to get back to work.
Yes, instead of the usual "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" mindset I would normally employ to get you back in the swing of things here at PlaneBuzz -- for those of us who call the airline industry home it is indeed a sad day.
And not just because it is September 11.
No, today we also found out that Jeff McClelland, CAO and EVP of US Airways, and one of the nicest guys you ever would want to meet in this industry, passed away Sunday. Jeff was only 47.
Jeff had fought an excruciatingly long battle with cancer -- and in the end the cancer finally won.
Not only was Jeff one of the "good guys," he was good at what he did. For those of you who remember what operations were like at America West before Jeff got there in 1999 -- I need say no more.
US Airways announced Monday that it will name its flight training center the Jeffrey D. McClelland Flight Center in honor of Jeff. A scholarship fund will also be set up as part of the US Airways Education Foundation.